Permane: "We just struggled for overall grip"

Renault Sport Formula One Team endured a frustrating qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Nico Hülkenberg qualifying thirteenth and Jolyon Palmer 17th for tomorrow’s race. It is the first time since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that the team has failed to reach Q3.

Qualifying times were exceptionally close over the course of today, with Hülkenberg’s best Q2 lap just 0.150secs adrift of the time required for the top ten.

"Frustrating, as a couple of tenths would have put us in a more familiar qualifying position", said Sporting Director Alan Permane.

"It’s a very tight midfield battle and we were just the wrong end of it today. We had no obvious issues on either side of the garage or either end of the car, we just struggled for overall grip which meant we weren’t able to show better pace.

"There’s more tyre degradation here than we’ve seen at other circuits so there is potential for different strategy permutations. The obligatory Medium compound is notably harder and slower than the Soft tyre so this will present a challenge. As ever, we’ll be doing everything possible to move both cars forwards."